Vacuum release stopper



Patented Oct. 2,- 1945 `UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE i i t 2,385,847

VACUUM RELEASE s'roPPER Adolph Skar, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application April 23, 1941, serial No.' 389,840!

3 Claims. (o1. als- 56) My invention relates to an improvement in vacuum release stoppers wherein it is desired to provide a stopper .which will permit equalization of pressure Von the inside and on the outside of the stopper. y i

When hot liquid is placed in a container, such as a vacuum bottle or 'Thermos bottle the liquid cools to some'extent in spite of the insulation. As the liquid cools the vapor in the air above the liquid withinthe container condenses and a partial vacuumis created above the liquid within the container. Whenit is desiredto remove the container stoppenunlesssome means isprovided for the removal of. the stopper, it is extremely diicult to remove. The partial vacuum within the bottle sometimes draws the stopper into the container until it can not be grasped easily with the fingers. Because of the force tending to pull thev stopper inwardly anunusual force must be'exerted to remove the stopper.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a stopper which has a longitudinal passage therethrough, andv to providea means of normally closing this passage when it is desired to remove the stopper. However, it is only necessary to open this passage through the stopper and thus to equalize the air on both sides of the stopper. The stopper may be then easily removed.

It is a feature of the present invention that the passage extending through the stopper mai be formed of material which does not. conduct heat readily. lIn the past metal pouring spouts and the like Ihave been extended through stoppers to facilitate thepouring of liquid from the container. Such a construction lwould not be suitable inthe present .instancel as not only would this tubular member readilyv conduct heat from the container butit also wouldv permit liquid respect to the` stopper.

to pass into .the openingthrough the stopper tonecessitate'the cleaning of the same. In the present invention a passage through the stopper is formed in a tubev of material relatively nonconductive of heat, and'this passage is of such small dimension that liquid will not ordinarily pass therethrough. In other words, the opening through the tubular member may be termed a capillary passage, rather than a pouring spout.

A further feature of my invention relies in the fact that the tubular member'does not extend entirely through `the stopper. The stopper is ordinarily formed ofresilient material, such as rubber or the like, although it should be understood that other suitable materials could be substituted therefor. en axial opening on the passage, which is preferably parallel to the axis of the stopper extends through the stopper from one end to the-other. Therelatively rigid tubular element extends partially through this passage in the stopper, so as to restrict the size of the passage through the stopper. Because of the resilientwmaterial ofthe cork body, a small opening through the cork would often be closed When the cork or stopper Was compressed. The relatively rigid tubular element also projects from the body of the stopper to permit the use of a closure cap to close the passage. Y

By having the tubular member of relatively` rigid. material the opening through the stopper may be held open when it is desired 'and may be electively closed when it is desired.' Such material is oftenmore conductive of heat than the rubber of which the stopper body is formed. Accordingly by having the tubular element extend only partially through the stopper the lower end of the tubular element is spaced from the interior of the container and is less likely to transfer heat from .the interior to the vexterior of .the container.

It is a feature of the present invention that4 by spacing the relatively rigid tubular element from the bottom of the stopper the lower extreme end of the stopper may ex more effectively than would otherwise be the case. Thus the stopper may be more readily inserted into a container than would be the case if the relatively rigid tube extended entirely through the same.

An object of the present invention relies in the manner in which the closing cap issealed with `As the cap is applied the lower surface thereof engages the outer surface of the stopper. As the stopper is of resilient material and is compressed adjacent the cap by engagement therewith, an eiective seal is formed by Vthe cap and the stopper. Thus a tighter seal may be provided than could ordinarily be effected by the cap and the tubular element. Y

It is a further feature of my invention to provide a tubular element which may be provided with circular ribs encircling the embedded .end of the same to prevent the tube from being withdrawn from the opening through the stopper. These ribs act to prevent longitudinal movement Y of the tubular element relative to the stopper stopper into which the tubular element extends. Accordingly the stopper body is flexed by the insertion of the tubular element and this element is therefore held in place more eiectively than would otherwise be the case.

These and other objects and novel features of myinvention will be more fully and clearly set forthlin the following specification and claims. In the drawing forming a part of my specification:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view through a vacuum bottle, or the like,vr containing a stopper showing my new construction.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional View in enlarged" form of the stopper illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the stopper l shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical section through a' modified form of stopper.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the stopper i1-v another'. form of construction.

Y Figure 8 is a vertical View through a portion of a stopper showing a slightly different form of cap construction.

Figure 9 is an elevation view of a modified form of construction of my tubular element.

The -vacuum or Thermos bottle A may be of any desired shape^or form. In the particular construction illustrated the vvacuum bottle A in-` cludes an inner container I0 of glass or other suitable material havinga neck II of restricted size which forms the only opening in the container III. The outer shell I 2` of metal, or the like encircles the inner container I0 and is her-1 metically'secured to a neck portion I3 with ari air tight connection I4.

The'neck portion I3 includes a stop bolt I5 adjacent which is provided a threaded section I6 A restricted neck I1 connects the threaded portion I 6 to the small diameter portion I9 which encloses a bead on the neck II of the inner container I0. The stopper B is positioned with-v -in the neck I I. A cup-like closure 2| is threaded at 22 to fit the thread I6 and provides an enf' closure for the neck portion of the bottle and the stopper B. Y

The stopper B may be made of any suitable rresilientmateriaL such as rubber, cork, or any suitable rsubstitute material., The cork bodyr23 is tapered from end to end andis provided with an axial passage or bore 24 extended from end to end of the body 23. YA tubular element 25 extends Ainto the bore or passage 24 from the large diameter end of the stopper body 23 and is'of an external diameter somewhat greater than the diameterV of the bore or passage 24.A The upper extremity 26 of the tubular element 25 is threaded and a closure cap 21 is threadably secured to this threaded end 26. A passage 29 extends through the tubular element 2-5 from end toY end and this passage is closed only by the cap 21. f Y

The cap 21 is provided with a skirt portion 30 which may be threaded down into engagement with the upper surface 3l of the stopper body 23.y

Thus when the cap 21 is threaded into closed position, the lower edge of the skirtl portion 30 en.- gages and compresses the resilient body 23 to form an effective sealV between the cap 21 and the resilient body 23. In'this lway a tighter seal is provided by the cap andthe tube yelement 25 than would otherwise be provided.

yIt will be noted that the tube 25 does not extend entirely through the passage 24. This permits the lower portion of the stopper to compress readily, as no reinforcing means is present at this end of the stopper to prevent ready compression.

In Figure 4 of the drawing I disclose a stopper C which is substantially like the construction previously described. I n this stopper C, however, the body 32 of the stopper is tapered from top to bottom and is provided with an axial bore 33 therein. At the top of the stopper the upper surface 34 is provided with a circular recessv 35 which is coaxial with the bore or passageway 33 and which is of sufficiently large diameter to accommodate theclosure cap 36. i

A tube 31, of suitable material, extends into the passage 33 and is threaded as illustrated. The cap 36 is provided with a skirt portion 38 which is internally threaded to t the threads of the projecting portion of the tube 31, so `that aneiective seal may-be provided. TheV cap 36 extends down into Vthe recess 35 so that the cap does not project as far from the top of the stoppervand. so that a more effective seal may be provided. As in the previously described construction, -the lower extremity of the skirt 31 engages the upper surface 39 of the stopper body at the base of the recess 35 so 'as to form an effective seal ybetween the cap 36 and the stopper body; A small diameter passage 40 is provided inthe tube 31 which is of sufficient size to permit air to enter the vacuum bottle, but it is of too small diameter to permitliquid to flow therethrough.

In Figure 6 of the drawing I disclose a modied form of construction of the tubular member to take the place of either the tubular member` 25 or 31 previously described. The tubular member 4I is threaded, at its upper end 42 and is provided with a passage 43 therethrough, so as to provide a means of equalizing pressure inside and outside of the vacuum bottle. An openingV 444 is provided through the side ofthe tube 4I near the upper extremity thereof, which is normally covered by the cap V30 or 36 but which may permit the flow of air through the tube before the' cap 30 Yor 36 is entirely removed.V

In Figure '1 o-f the drawing I disclose a tubular member 45 having -a threaded upper extremity 46 and a passage v41 extending therethrough. A notch 49 is provided in the upper end of the tube 46 so as to permit air to pass through the tube 45 before the cap 30 or 36 is entirely removed or unthreavded from the tube.

In Figure 8 of the drawing I disclose a stopper identical to the stopper Bor C. The stopper E is provided with a bore50 therethrough to accommodate a tube 5I. vA cap 52 is threaded to the. upper extremity'of the tube 5I. A gasket 53 i s provided within the cap 52. When the Y cap 52 is threaded down upon the tube. 5I the into an axial opening and be dimcult to remove because of the rings or anges 55.

In preferred form the tubes illustrated are formed of glass or plastic relatively poor conduc tors of heat. The caps described are preferably formed of plastic, or the like, to, be threaded into the tubes. By forming the tubes out of glass or plastic, little heat from within the container is transmitted through the stopper.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of construction and operation of my stopper, and while I have endeavored to set forth the best embodiments thereof, I desire to have it understood that these are only illustrative of a means of carrying out my invention and that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A vacuum release stopper for vacuum bottles comprising a tapered resilient body, said body having a normally open small diameter passage extending therethrough,'a tubular element extending partially through said body and terminated in spaced relationship to the lower end of said body, one end of said tubular member projecting from the upper end of said body, said tubular element being of larger diameter than said passage, the resilient body being compressed about said tubular element, the passage through said tubular element forming a continuation of the portion of the passage through said stopper, below said tubular element, and a cap for said one end of said tubular member, said cap including a top closure portion having a depending skirt thereupon, said one end of said tubular member and the interior of said skirt being threaded so that said cap may be threadably engaged upon said tubular member, ar relatively iiat surface at the lower extremity of said skirt, said lower surface bearing against the resilient body and compressing the same to form a seal at the lower extremity of said cap, said resilient body tightening the threaded engagement between said cap and said tubular element.

2. A vacuum release stopper for vacuum bottles comprising a tapered resilient body, said body having a normally open small diameter passage extending therethrough, a tubular element in said passage, said tubular element being of larger diameter than said passage, the resilient body being compressed about said tubular element, one end of said tubular element projecting above the large diameter end of said body, external threads on said one end of said tubular element, an internally threaded cap including a top and an internally threaded sleeve portion connected thereto, the lower end of said sleeve being substantially liat to provide a bearing surface, said cap being engageable with said resilient body to form a seal between the lower edge of said cap and said resilient body, said resilient body tightening said cap upon its threads.

3. A vacuum release stopper for vacuum bottles comprising a resilient tapered body, said body having a normally open small diameter passage extending therethrough, a tubular elementl resiliently engaged in said passage, said tubular element having one end thereof threaded and projecting above the large diameter end of said body, an aperture substantially concentric with said passage in said body at the large diameter end thereof, said aperture encircling said tubular element, a cap including a, top closure and a depending internally' threaded sleeve threadably engaged on the projecting end of said tubular element, said depending sleeve having a relatively flat bearing surface at the lower end thereof engageable against said resilient body at the bottom of said aperture to form a seal therebetween, said resilient body urging said cap upwardly to tighten the engagement between said cap and said one end of said tubular element.

ADOLPI-I SKAR. 

